Classification

Objectives
1. Explain the characteristics that distinguish living from nonliving things.
2. Name and give examples of the categories used to classify an organism. (Morphology, organization, behavior, biochemistry, genetics, etc.)
3. Be able to make and use taxonomic keys.
4. Demonstrate the ability to classify an organism in all 8 taxa.
5. Identify the 8 main taxonomic ranks of classification: domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, family, genus, species.
6. Be able to explain the relationship between categories of classification (taxa) and evolutionary relationships.
7. Name the eukaryotic kingdoms, state several characteristics of organisms found there, and state example organisms.
8. Identify organisms and their parts externally by symmetry, segmentation, body location, and skeleton.
9. Identify major features of 9 phyla of animals that place them there.
10. Name and identify the characteristics of 7 classes of vertebrates.

Vocabulary
Abiotic
Alive
Autotroph
Binomial nomenclature
Biodiversity
Biotic
Body location/axis

• Anterior
• Dorsal
• Lateral
• Posterior
• Ventral

Class

• Agnatha (jawless fish)
• Amphibia (amphibians)
• Aves (birds)
• Chondrichthyes (cartilagenous fish)
• Mammalia (mammals)
• Osteichthyes (bony fish)
• Reptilia (reptiles)

Classification
Cladogram
Dead
Dichotomous key
Domain

• Archaea
• Bacteria
• Eukarya

Eukaryote
Genus
Heterotroph
Kingdom

• Animalia
• (Bacteria/Monera)
• Fungi
• Plantae
• Protista

Living
Multicellular
Order
Phylum

• Annelida
• Arthropoda
• Chordata
• Cnidaria
• Echinodermata
• Mollusca
• Nematoda
• Platyhelminthes
• Porifera

Phylogeny
Prokaryote
Scientific name
Segmentation
Skeleton

• Endoskeleton
• Exoskeleton
• Hydrostatic skeleton

Species
Symmetry

• Asymmetrical
• Bilateral symmetry
• Radial symmetry

Taxa (plural)/Taxon (singular)
Taxonomic key
Taxonomic rank

• Domain
• Kingdom
• Phylum
• Class
• Order
• Family
• Genus
• Species

Taxonomy
Unicellular

Sample MCAS Questions
1 Bluejays and kingbirds are both classified in the order Passeriformes. In the current taxonomic system, this must mean that the two birds belong to the same
A. Family
B. Genus
C. Phylum
D. Species

2. The table below provides classification information for four different mammals.

Classification Level	Mammal 1	Mammal 2	Mammal 3	Mammal 4
Order	Rodentia	Lagomorpha	Rodentia	Rodentia
Family	Castoridae	Leporidae	Sciuridae	Sciuridae
Genus	Castor	Sylvilagus	Sciurus	Sciurus
Species	canadensis	floridanus	niger	carolinensis

Which of these mammals are most closely related to each other?
A. 1 and 2
B. 1 and 3
C. 2 and 4
D. 3 and 4

3. The answer to which of the following questions would be most useful in determining whether to classify an organism in kingdom Plantae or kingdom Animalia?
A. Is the organism able to respond to stimuli?
B. Is the organism able to make its own food?
C. Is the organism unicellular or multicellular?
D. Is the organism made of cells with or without nuclei?

4. Organism A is eukaryotic, is unicellular, and lacks a cell wall. Organism B is eukaryotic, is multicellular, has a cell wall, and contains chloroplasts.
In which kingdoms should these organisms be classified?
A. Organism A in Protista and Organism B in Fungi
B. Organism A in Protista and Organism B in Plantae
C. Organism A in Animalia and Organism B in Fungi
D. Organism A in Animalia and Organism B in Plantae

5. Lobsters and spiders are both classified in the phylum Arthropoda. Lobsters and spiders are therefore also classified in the same
A. class.
B. family.
C. genus.
D. kingdom.

6. Scientists have discovered a new type of organism. To assign the organism to a domain and kingdom, which of the following is most important for scientists to know?
A. the organism's cell structure
B. the organism's population size
C. the organism's social behavior
D. the organism's reproductive rate

7. Trichodina is a eukaryotic organism that attaches itself to fish and eats bacteria.

Which of the following distinguishes Trichodina from all prokaryotes?
A. Trichodina is unicellular.
B. Trichodina has a nucleus.
C. Trichodina has a cytoplasm.
D. Trichodina is heterotrophic.

8. Organisms in the kingdoms Animalia and Fungi are similar in some ways but are also different in many important ways.
a. List one organism classified in kingdom Animalia and one organism classified in kingdom Fungi.
b. Describe two similarities between organisms in kingdom Animalia and kingdom Fungi.
c. Describe two differences between organisms in kingdom Animalia and kingdom Fungi.


ANSWERS
1. C
2. D
3. B
4. B
5. D
6. A
7. B